


The Separated

by Nebilas



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: :Like how does one do?, Alya to the rescue, Angst, Arguments, At each other's throats, F/M, I don't think so I just maybe amplified it a bit, I get angry at Marinette sometimes, I'm Bad At Tagging, Idk what happened, Like reaaaaaly bad at tagging, Rebuilding a partnership, Some Swearing, They are not happy with each other, Trying to pick up the pieces, maybe slightly OOC?, this was supposed to be a oneshot, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-01 15:16:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14523438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebilas/pseuds/Nebilas
Summary: After a fallout four months ago, Ladybug kicked Chat Noir out of her life forever. But after an akuma fight, she wakes up in Chat's bed, and a certain cat kwami has no intention of letting her leave until she realizes just what she's done to his chosen.Also disclaimer. They're gonna be a little OOC. Obviously. Ladybug would never actually do this, this was just a dream I had.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok look. I posted this on fanfiction.net, and I got two reactions. I got shouted at, or people really enjoyed it. I'm making no promises of this being a continued thing, but I did just write Chapter 3, so I totally could make this a thing. Idk. Lemme know what you think.

Marinette woke up with a start. For a few moments she panicked. It was extremely dark in the room she found herself in. As she began to take in her situation, she began to relax slightly. She wasn’t tied down, and she was on a bed. A very comfortable bed. The room she was in was absurdly large for a bedroom, if that’s what this was. The moonlight shining in through the ceiling to floor windows was enough to prove that. She sat up, hissing as pain flared through her side. 

 

“You should lie back down.”  A voice murmured from the darkness. Despite how quietly the figure had spoken, she heard him quite clearly, but she decided to ignore him. 

 

“Chat?”  She asked, more than a little surprised that he was there.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What happened?”  She asked.

 

“Don’t you remember? You got blasted by an arrow trying to save Alya.”  Suddenly Marinette did remember. Her throat constricted. “Was I successful?”  She asked, terrified of the answer. 

 

“Yes. Barely. Though you almost got yourself killed in the process.”  His sigh was audible. “I had to run in and get you out before he stole your miraculous.”

 

“Why were you there?”  Mari asked bluntly. There was silence for a few moments.

 

“I didn’t see who you are either. I had your kwami tie a cloth around your face before I bandaged you up”  Mari felt her side and there were in fact bandages.

 

“All well and good Noir. But  _ why were you there? _ ”  More silence.

 

“Just passing through.”  He finally responded.

 

“Bullshit.”  Came a third voice.

 

“Plagg shut up.”  Chat hissed.

 

“No fuck that. Tell her why you were there. Or do I have to?”  When Chat made no progress in replying, Plagg continued. “He’s  _ always  _ there.”  Silence. Whatever Marinette had expected it wasn’t that.

 

“Excuse me?”  She asked dangerously, glaring at where she knew Chat must be.

 

“Way to go Plagg. No camembert for a week.” 

 

“Fucking worth it.”  Plagg shot back.

 

“What part of  _ we are through  _ did you not understand? What part of  _ get out of my life  _ was too complicated for your tiny brain to understand? WHICH PART?”  She roared. Chat didn’t respond.

 

“Ok you know what ladybitch? Get  _ off  _ Tikki, no this speech has been a long time coming.”  Plagg drifted up to her and got in her face, eyes going wide when he saw who she was.  “Seriously? You? I thought you were nice. Guess we all have a side we like to hide.” He said, sneering. Marinette flushed and couldn’t help but feel the guilt that had been clawing at her since she had told Chat to leave. “Chat has been watching over you since you first shoved him away. He’s saved you at least five times. He’s been at every fucking akuma battle, not even always as Chat. As his civilian self too. And do you know why? Why even after all you’ve done to him? Even after you got rid of him?”

 

“Plagg don’t say it.”

 

“HE LOVES YOU!”  Plagg screeched. Deafening silence. Nobody moved. And then, incredibly, impossibly, Marinette started laughing. Tikki looked at her chosen in horror, while Plagg looked like he was going to explode with rage.

 

“ _ Loves me?? _ ”  Marinette forced out, still giggling. “That’s rich. What with all of the girls he’s been with? If he loves me has a funny way of showing it.”

 

“NONE OF THAT IS REAL!!”  Plagg roared, making Marinette flinch.  “Tabloid news! All of it! Every time he saw one of those, he died on the inside because he knew if you saw it you would assume.”

 

“Bullshit.”  Marinette said flatly.

 

“Ok Marinette what the fuck?”  Tikki said angrily, flying into her field of vision, glaring at her.  “Why are you so quick to judge Chat but whenever Adrien has supposedly been ‘sighted’ you immediately discount it.

 

“Because Adrien isn’t a pile of shit like Chat Noir is.”  Marinette snarled. Then she heard laughter. It was soft at first, but it soon became loud, raucous even.  “What are you laughing at Shit Noir?”

 

“Marinette?”  Chat asked, playing with then name as he said it. Marinette glared at Tikki, who instead of looking chastised, looked smug.  “As in Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

 

“Nice Tikki.”  Marinette snarled.  “Way to go.”

 

“And Adrien? As in Adrien Agreste?” 

 

“Yes.”  Marinette growled.

 

“Adrien Agreste, with blonde hair and green eyes?”

 

“Yes him.”

 

“Adrien Agreste, who is exactly 5 foot 11, 165 pounds?”

 

“169. Where are you going with this?”   
  


“You’re a fucking fangirl. Jesus Christ that explains so much. Also I lost weight so no, I weigh 165.”

 

“Fuck you I’m not a-”  He throat constricted as she realized what he had just said. 

 

“There it is.”  He said, turning on a lamp next to him, revealing that he was in fact Adrien Agreste.  “Are you not, Marinette? Are you not a fangirl?” Marinette couldn’t bring herself to respond.  “Because fun fact. I feel much more like myself when I’m Chat Noir than I do when I’m myself. Am I over the top? Yes. Do I flirt more, and pun more, and do more flips than necessary? Yes I do. Did you ever stop to consider why? That maybe it’s because I hate all of the restrictions my father has on me so much, that the instant I got freedom I grabbed it and ran?”

 

“And never stopped.”  Plagg murmured.

 

“You’re just like the rest Marinette.”  Adrien said sadly. When Marinette forced herself to look up, she could see the sorrow in his eyes.  “All you see is the pretty face. All you see is the societal prince that my dad wants everyone to see. Nino doesn’t. Alya doesn’t. And I thought.. For a while that maybe you didn’t either. I guess I was wrong.”  Adrien sighed and stood. “There are some chocolate chip cookies for your kwami in my bag. I apologize by the way. Your clothes may smell like camembert for a bit. I have a photoshoot in an hour, so you can let yourself out at your leisure. Just don’t use the front door please. Also watch out for the cameras in the yard. Take the third window pane from the left and you should be clear. See you at school.”  And with that, he and Plagg left, leaving a shell shocked Marinette behind them.


	2. Four Months Prior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why Ladybug was so mad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place four months ago. In case you didn't know. It does. :)

Ladybug hissed in pain. She almost certainly had a broken rib. This akuma was nasty. Why the hell Hawkmoth had decided to send one out at three in the morning was beyond her, but here she and Chat were. Chat had shown up with surprisingly little fanfare. He had mentioned hoping to keep this one short, but through no fault of their own, the fight had now been raging for two hours and forty-five minutes. 

 

A glance to her left showed her Chat looking about as bad as she felt. He had a long laceration across his face, and he was favoring his right leg. He suddenly let out a hiss and darted forward, weaving his way through various projectiles the akuma was flinging at him, and letting out a shout of frustration as the akuma evaded him yet again. 

 

Ladybug wasn’t quite sure if it was her imagination, but Chat seemed far more irritable than he usually did. It seemed as though the akuma had gotten under his skin, which was bizarre, as the akuma had yet to actually say anything. Ladybug took a deep breath, and ducked out from behind her cover, prepared to throw her yoyo, and time suddenly froze.

 

_ Alya. _

 

Alya  _ fucking  _ Cesaire, standing right in the middle of the battlefield, phone out, still in her pajamas. Alya currently had her back to the spotted heroine and was filming Chat and the akuma go at it. The akuma had somehow gotten a hold of a sword and the two were dueling in a way that would have made trained swordsmen pale. 

 

The akuma dealt a devastating kick to Chat’s side and sent him crashing through a nearby building. The akuma quickly pursued, and then to Ladybug’s horror, so did Alya. She stood stock still for five seconds, and then started her pursuit as well. She leapt in the window Chat had crashed through, and listened intently. It was silent. She crept through a door to her right, and rubbed her head. She had been getting a headache throughout the fight, probably due to the akuma, but she didn’t understand why.

 

“WOULD YOU SHUT UP!”  A voice roared from ahead. Ladybug jumped as she recognized Chat’s voice. She quickly tried to follow it, but she couldn’t track him down.

 

“Chat?”  She whispered tentatively. 

 

“Cataclysm!”  When she heard that, she paled. Chat probably didn’t know Alya was in the building. She switched her priorities from the akuma and Chat to Alya. Alya needed to get out and get out  _ now.  _ Chat was pissed and probably not thinking clearly. 

 

“Ladybug!”  A voice hissed. Ladybug whirled and found Alya crouched, phone still in hand. Relief flooded her. Alya waved with her other hand. The relief was replaced with a sudden urge to drop kick her best friend. She quickly joined her on the other side of the room.

 

“You need to get out.”  she whispered. “Chat’s activated his Cataclysm.”

 

“I know!”  Alya gushed.  “He said I should get out but I wanted to see it for myself.”  Ladybug sighed and was about to drag Alya out of the building whether she wanted to be or not, when the akuma walked in. Ladybug prepared herself for a fight, but to her surprise, the akuma completely ignored her. He refocused on the entryway he had come from and waited.

 

Chat staggered out of it, a manic look in his eyes. He grinned viciously, and slashed a wall next to him, and the cataclysm began to destroy the building. Chat’s grin broadened until movement behind the akuma caught his eye. Ladybug and Alya. His grin disappeared without a trace, being replaced with an expression of horror.

 

_ Oh Chat what have you done?  _ The akuma mocked. Chat howled in fury and tried to launch himself past his foe, but was prevented by the flat end of the akumas sword. Chat snarled and elongated his baton and began battling the akuma again, this time just trying to get past him. He had lost sight of the two women and was becoming more desperate by the second. The building continued to deteriorate, when a scream pierced the air. It went on for only a moment, before it was cut off sharply. Chat felt terror rise in his chest and finally got past the akuma, and made a beeline for the origin of the sound. 

 

He found Ladybug on her knees, staring at a pile of rubble in shock. _I killed_ _Alya._ Those were the only words that went through Chat’s head. _I killed Alya._ He grabbed Ladybug and fled the building as it continued to collapse. Ladybug was in too much shock to even try to fight him. The instant the crumbling stopped, Chat took off for the building again. 

 

For Ladybug, the world became a blur around her. She couldn’t seem to move, despite her every instinct screaming at her to go to Alya and get her out. 

 

For Chat, the world became a blur as he practically flew to where he knew Alya was. The akuma stood between him and her, giving him an appraising look. He prepared himself for yet another battle, but the akuma merely handed him a pendant from his pocket. Chat took it cautiously, expecting a trap as his miraculous beeped.

 

_ I give this to you, for I have won.  _

 

“You’ve done nothing of the sort.”  Chat hissed defiantly. The akuma merely chuckled. It was low, and it reverberated through Chat’s head.

 

_ Ladybug will be the one to decide that.  _ It said, and walked away. Chat dove into the rubble, desperately trying to find Alya underneath the rubble. After two minutes, and a two minute reminder from Plagg, he had her. She lay broken in his arms as he carried her out of the building that he had destroyed.

 

Ladybug snapped out of her stupor and snatched the pendant out of his hands, smashing it on the ground. She captured the akuma and purified it. The ladybugs quickly swarmed the building, as well as the girl in Chat’s arms. After a gut wrenching thirty seconds which felt like an hour, Alya stirred. 

 

She woke up in the arms of a leather clad hero who wanted nothing more than crawl into a whole and let himself die. The reason for this was the look of pure disgust that was being levelled towards him from his partner. The love of his life was looking at him as though she would love nothing more than to drown him in the Seine. 

 

To make matters even worse for Chat, if that were even possible, was his miraculous. He now had forty-five seconds to get off of the streets before his identity was revealed. He sat Alya down on the curb, making sure she was okay to do so. As he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm.

 

“Thank you.”  She whispered. Chat felt the urge to throw up, but forced a strained smile, and bolted. His transformation wore off as he got about a block away from his home. He had had the foresight to change into workout clothes prior to going out, and so was dressed reasonably. Plagg zoomed out and was caught by his chosen as he dramatically fell from the sky.

 

“Ohh my stomach.”  Plagg groaned. For once, Adrien could relate to his kwami, though he had a suspicion it was for a different reason. Adrien said nothing, and jogged out of the alley as though he was a normal jogger on a run, turning towards his house.  “Kid.” Adrien didn’t answer. “Kiiiid when am I gonna get fed.”

 

“Soon.”  Adrien said shortly. 

 

“That’s not good enough. I need fooood.” 

 

“Plagg there are more important things than camembert right now.”  Adrien said, his temper reaching boiling point.

 

“Like what?”  Plagg scoffed.  “Ladybug? I know you love her and whatever but my love for camembert far outweighs-”

 

“Shut. Up.”  Adrien hissed, nearing his home.

 

“What? Did she reject you? Sorry kid, I’m sure there are other fish in the sea. Like Marinette! Date her!”

 

“I killed Alya!”  Adrien snapped. For once. Plagg was speechless.  “Now if you’ll excuse me. I have two minutes to get back in the house to even have a shot at making up an excuse for Natalie.”  Adrien bolted to the fence and vaulted it, and ran in a dead sprint across the yard, before scaling the building and pulling himself in through his window. He didn’t have a rock climbing wall in his room for nothing. He slammed the window shut mere seconds before Natalie knocked on his door. He let a sigh of relief go through him and he walked over, ready to spew out any story he had to. 

 

XxXxXxXxXx

 

The rest of the day went by at an agonizing pace. Adrien had to continually fight the urge to whip around a throw himself at Alya’s feet, begging for her forgiveness. Marinette was in a strangely negative mood, and the entire class could feel it. Even Chloe kept a low profile that day, realizing that doing anything to the contrary could result in her being utterly destroyed by her petite classmate. 

 

But the final bell did finally ring, and Adrien immediately left, only muttering a quick goodbye to his three friends. He asked Plagg if he could transform him and Plagg did so without complaining, knowing exactly what his chosen was up to. He called on his transformation and quickly began to follow Mari and Alya as they walked towards the former’s house. He was almost certain Mari saw him a few times, but if she did she didn’t make it obvious. He watched as Mari reluctantly said goodbye to her friend, and disappear inside of the bakery. Alya continued walking towards her own house, and Chat waited impatiently for her to enter. After that, he gave it a few minutes more, not wanting to seem like a creep.

 

He landed in front of her door and rang the doorbell. A muffled curse came from within the house, and Chat couldn’t help but smile a bit. The smile faded quickly though as Alya opened the door.

 

“Hello sorry I was… Um…”  Her expression became one of complete surprise as she realized just who was standing at her door. 

 

“Do you have a few minutes?”  Chat asked.

 

“Um. Yes!  Yes I do, come in.”  She stood aside and allowed Chat to enter. Adrien glanced around with interest, both taking in the home he had never been in, and trying to distract himself from the reason he was there.

 

“So Chat Noir what can I do for you?”  Alya asked, face oddly void of emotion. Adrien felt a pang of guilt go through him.

 

“I’m.. Here to apologize.”  Alya nodded, expression still blank.  “I.. Well I… I killed you. I feel like shit because of it. I don’t… There’s nothing I can say that will make this better is there?”  He asked, staring at the floor.

 

“Not really.”  Alya said bluntly.  “But not for the reason you think.”  Chat looked up as Alya sat down in a chair across from him.  “I don’t blame you Chat. I saw you. You had no idea I was still in the building, and you were just doing your job.”

 

“But I still killed you!”  Chat protested. Alya held up a finger and effectively shut him up.

 

“And Ladybug revived me. I would argue I killed myself by being an idiot. Yes technically you were the one who called on Cataclysm but I was the one dumb enough to follow you in there. So there’s nothing to forgive Chat, and that is the last I will hear of it. Understand?”  She fixed him with a stern glare and he could only nod. Alya gave him another look. This one was unreadable. “How old are you Chat?” She asked.

 

“I can’t answer that I’m afraid. As you well know.”  Chat said, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“I know but still. You can’t be much older than me, if you’re older than me at all.”

 

“I’m not answering anything.”  Chat said, glancing at a clock on the far wall.  “Look if I ever tell you it would be under the pretenses that you never told anyone who I was. And that would be assuming I’d want to tell you at all. There’s a reason these things stay secret.”

 

“Pft.”  Alya harrumphed, looking away.  “I guess only Ladybug knows.” She glanced back, and took in the look on Chat’s face.  “She doesn’t know?” She asked, incredulous. 

 

“Again, I’m not answering-”   

 

“Neither of you  _ know??”  _  Alya shrieked. Chat hesitated for a moment, then sighed.

 

“No. We don’t. She…  _ We  _ decided it would be better that way. In case Hawkmoth gets one of us and uses an akuma to get it out of us. That sort of thing.”  Alya remained silent, processing this new info.

 

“But.. It’s been two  _ years. _ ”

 

“Yeah. I know. I was there.”  

 

“Cut the sarcasm Chat this is serious.”  Alya said firmly. 

 

“How so?”  Chat asked, confused. Alya’s face suddenly became very blank.

 

“Nothing. Never mind. I made a mistake.”  There were a few minutes of awkward silence, before Chat’s baton suddenly started beeping making them both jump.

 

“Looks like Ladybug wants me.”  Chat said, voice neutral.

 

“You don’t seem thrilled.”  Alya observed.

 

“I’m a bit nervous.”  he admitted. “I gotta go. Bye Alya. Take care.”

 

“You too Chat.”  Alya murmured as he walked out the door.

 

Chat quickly climbed to the rooftops, and began to run towards the meeting place. He had a nasty feeling in his stomach that this meeting wouldn’t go as smoothly as it had with Alya.

 

XxXxXxXxXx

 

Ladybug paced the roof, waiting for Chat to arrive. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen when he arrived, she had no idea what she wanted to say, she just knew that she was furious. Chat had killed her best friend without a second thought, just to get an akuma. The look on his face had been more than just trying to get an akuma, and there was no reason for it. The akuma hadn’t spoken once. It had simply been. Yes it had been weirdly fixated on him most of the battle, but that wasn’t entirely knew. It had happened to both her and Chat in the past. The sound of footsteps behind her brought her back to the present.

 

“Noir.”  If she had turned around, she would have seen Chat flinch.

 

“H-Hello my lady.”  Ladybug felt a surge of anger run through her and she whipped around and glared at him.

 

“I am  _ not  _ your lady. Nor will I ever be.”  She seethed. This time she did see Chat’s flinch, and she felt a surge of satisfaction course through her.

 

“I’m sorry Ladybug. I won’t call you that again.”  If Ladybug hadn’t been so angry, she might have heard the heartbreak in his voice.

 

“Damn straight you won’t. Where were you just now? You came from a different direction.”  She didn’t really care, but when he answered, she suddenly cared a  _ lot. _

 

“I was at Alya’s house. I talked to-”  Chat suddenly found himself pinned to a wall, with an absolutely livid Ladybug holding him there.

 

“ _ You do not speak to her.”  _  She hissed. 

 

“I was there to apologize.”  Chat whispered.

 

“Oh? And what did she say?”  She asked, hoping that Alya had told him to fuck off.

 

“She refused to accept it. She said it was her fault.”

 

“Well that’s just plain ignorance on her part. She may forgive you but I won’t.”  She sneered. Chat was already feeling his world start to crumble, but Ladybug was nowhere near finished, as she stepped away from him.  “You are despicable Chat Noir. I saw the look on your face. You cared about nothing else when you activated that Cataclysm. All you cared about was taking out that akuma, no matter the cost. And that cost was almost a civilian. You’re just a sadistic piece of shit, and I want you out of my life.”  Chat stared at her, dumbstruck.

 

“What?”  He finally forced out.

 

“I want you out of my life. I don’t want to ever see your face again. That is  _ what  _ I am saying Noir. We are no longer partners and if I see you again, I will take your miraculous back to the man we got them from. Understand? Now get out of my sight.” 

 

“My lady.. Please reconsider I didn’t want to hurt-”  Ladybug cut him off.

 

“Chat let me make this abundantly clear. I would swim through hot garbage before reconsidering. Now leave.”  When Chat made no move to leave, she raised her voice. “NOW!” Chat immediately fled, trying to contain the tears that were already beginning to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, some backstory for ya. :) It's a wonderful time. Right? Right... yeaaah no. 
> 
> But hey! Don't be upsetti have some spaghetti. 


	3. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to the present, Marinette decides she wants to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on tumblr at nebilas-writes https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nebilas-writes

Three weeks. Three weeks since they’d had their second fallout, and Marinette had had time to think. Lots of time. 

 

When the reveal had first happened, Mari had been shell shocked. Then she had been furious. When Adrien walked into the classroom and greeted her that first day afterwards, she had flat out ignored him, and Alya had been all over it. She had grilled Marinette for hours over why she was ignoring the model. Marinette had been unable to provide a satisfactory answer, and had thus taken to speaking to the model every time she thought necessary so as to avoid Alya’s questions. And it worked.

 

Kind of.

 

Alya seemed to know something was amiss, no matter what Marinette told her, and Marinette was suspicious that her friend knew more than she was letting on. But she couldn’t prove that, so she let it be. 

 

But she was still angry. He had thrown her aside as though she was nothing, and she was prepared to give him a piece of her mind. But then she remembered that that was exactly what she had done to him five months earlier, and that was a mess she was still suffering repercussions from. So she sat down and talked with Tikki, who gave her some advice, which Marinette took to heart.

 

So she’d texted him, telling him she wanted to talk. She wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to say, even now, but she knew what she had to do. So there she sat in the park, the first tints of orange showing on the Parisian skyline as the sun descended towards the horizon. 

 

“Marinette.”  The distant nature of the voice that spoke to her made her flinch. She took a deep breath as he sat next to her.

 

“Adrien.”  She replied, trying to reply in the same manner, and pretty sure she was failing miserably. A few moments of awkward silence passed, before Adrien spoke.

 

“You said you wanted to talk to me about something?”

 

“Yes. A few things.”  Mari said, glancing at him. He nodded, indicating that she had his attention.  “First, and most important, I want you back as my partner. Officially. In the eyes of the city.”  He cocked an eyebrow.

 

“Did you finally get tired of swimming through hot garbage?”  Marinette grit her teeth, trying not to punch him in the throat. In fairness, those had been the exact words she’d used nearly five months prior.  “I’m there all of the time anyways.” he continued. “Why the official stamp?”

 

“It would help a few things.”  Marinette said. “Morale of the city for one. Also you would probably be able to help more. I know you aren’t as effective as you were when we were a team, and I-”

 

“Done.”  Adrien said abruptly.

 

“What?”  Mari asked, taken aback.

 

Adrien’s eyebrows lifted slightly, finding her surprise amusing.  “My answer is yes. Obviously. I am far more effective when working with you and last I checked, being more effective at saving people is a good thing.”

 

“Oh! Right! Good!”  Mari said, still reeling from his sudden acceptance. The two sat in silence again before Mari pressed on.  “There is another thing I was hoping to talk to you about.” Adrien gave her a sideways glance.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s about.. Us.”  Mari said, lilting at the word. Adrien paused, and Mari saw something flash across his face. What it was she wasn’t sure, but it gave her hope.

 

“How do you mean?”  He asked, expression now guarded again.

 

“Adrien.. I owe you an apology.”  Adrien didn’t move, so Mari forged on.  “When I kicked you out of my life nearly five months ago.. I was blinded by anger. You were trying to apologize and I didn’t want to hear it. God you were in  _ tears _ and I ignored all of that. I don’t deserve you as a partner. Not really. It’s just that she’s my best friend and I  _ watched her die. _ ”  Mari took a shaky breath, trying to find the strength to move on. 

 

Before she could, Adrien held up a hand.  “Marinette. You don’t owe me an apology for that. I’ve understood from day one why you threw me out. My kwami doesn’t necessarily agree with it, and neither did yours I’m assuming, based on how she reacted when our reveal went down, but I understood. I miscalculated, and Alya paid the price for it. It doesn’t matter that it was reversed through your magic. It still happened.”

 

“But it’s not just that!”  Mari burst out. Adrien looked surprised.  “It’s what happened after, what I did  _ after _ all of that went down. How I treated you in front of the press, while I talked shit about you. I called you  _ Shit Noir _ to your face for god's sake. I let hatred boil inside of me for so long because I didn’t want to admit that I still needed you in my life. I decided to hate you because it was easier to feel that than admit I was wrong.”

 

Adrien stared at her, before letting out a short huff of laughter.  “So.. What do you want from  _ us? _ ”  The way he said the word ‘us’ left Marinette feeling uneasy.

 

Marinette took a deep breath.  “Can we.. Maybe try to be friends again?” 

 

Adrien cocked his head as though considering it.  “I don’t think so. Not yet at least. And honestly, were we ever even that close as Ladybug and Chat?”

 

Marinette’s mouth dropped in indignation.  “Of course we were!” She protested.

 

Adrien laughed hollowly.  “I disagree. As we are now, you couldn’t speak a complete sentence around me without either stumbling over your words or your feet. I don’t know anything about you. As for our other personalities, you seemed very eager to throw me out.”

 

Marinette narrowed her eyes.  “You just said I didn’t need your forgiveness for that.”

 

Adrien glared.  “Not that. You didn’t ask why. You assumed that I would just snap like that. You never gave me the benefit of the doubt. I felt betrayed. I still do. ‘Partners forever’, and yet you never asked why I was so angry that entire fight.”

 

“There was no reason for you to be!”  Marinette growled, defending herself. 

 

Adrien rolled his eyes. “You still don’t want to hear me out do you? I have a brain you know. I’m not just pretty.”

 

“Oh like you were any better.”  Marinette snapped. “With your obsession on Ladybug. You think I don’t remember how much you read the Ladyblog and how often you looked at pictures of me?”  Adrien looked decidedly uncomfortable, and Marinette pushed her advantage. “Look I’m not saying my crush is entirely normal. I pushed it a little far. But if I’m guilty of it so are you.”

 

Adrien sighed and raked a hand through his hair.  “I never said I wasn’t. But that’s not the  _ point  _ Marinette. You don’t  _ listen. _ ”

 

“What is there to hear?”  Marinette sneered.

 

Adrien stared at her, and then stood, clearly frustrated.  “I think ten minutes in each other’s company is too much right now. Let’s pick this up another time.”

 

“Fine.”  Marinette growled, rising as well.  “Not that I wanted to be your friend anyway.”  She threw out the last sentence as a desperate blow, intent on getting the last word. She instantly regretted it. She was already feeling a wave of guilt crash over her, and she could practically feel Tikki’s anger radiating from her pocket. 

 

Adrien, who had turned to begin walking away, slowly turned back around. He took two steps forward, and was suddenly very close. Marinette, who wanted nothing more than to cower away, held her ground. He stared at her, eyes piercing her soul, and Marinette had never felt more like an open book. 

 

Adrien just shook his head, looking up at the sky.  “Well I did.” Marinette’s heart shattered. “That’s all I ever wanted Marinette.”  He brought his gaze back to her. “Friends.” He sighed, and rubbed the back of his head.  “Look I’m far from perfect. I am more than willing to admit it. And.. I know you didn’t truly mean that last thing you said. Unless you did?”  He asked, cocking an eyebrow. Marinette emphatically shook her head no. “I’m glad.” He said simply. “But look at us. Not even a full conversation, and we were at each other’s throats. We have issues Bug. I’m willing to work them out. But not yet. I think we both need time.”

 

Marinette nodded. She could get behind the logic Adrien was using.  “So.. Will we ever get a chance to be friends?” She asked softly.

 

Adrien put his hands in his pockets.  “I don’t know.” He said honestly. “But I’m willing to see if we can spend time together and not be… Irrational.”

 

Marinette laughed bitterly.  “I’ve made a mess of this haven’t I?”

 

Adrien sighed.  “It’s not just you Marinette. We’ve both fucked this up pretty royally.”  He pulled at his phone and sighed. “I’ve gotta go. We’ll talk later.” He turned and walked off, headed towards the limo she was sure he had arrived in.

 

“Adrien!”  Marinette called. He turned back, looking at her questioningly.  “Join me on Friday night?” Marinette felt a surge of hope when she saw the small smile that crossed his face. He flashed her a thumbs up, and turned back around.  _ Maybe we have a shot at this.  _ She thought, turning away from the figure of the receding model.  _ Just maybe. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's hope... That's something


End file.
